Overdrive Extra: Page 34

When bark turns to barf – having a sick pet on the road

Diesel Dog isn’t keeping his food down. You’re nowhere near a vet. It’s the middle of the night. What’s a long-haul driver to do? This Worst Case Trucking Scenario offers a few tips on dealing with common pet maladies on the road when you can’t get advice from a vet. For more detail, see the […]

November 10, 2015

Where driving jobs have arisen since 1978

Whatever the extent of any “driver shortage,” you wouldn’t think there is one by checking a National Public Radio report by Quoctrung Bui that traces the most common jobs in every state since 1978. The data not only highlights trends about trucking jobs, but also reveals aspects of the broader economy over almost four decades. In […]

November 6, 2015

In more than half of states during 2014, the most common job was truck driving. Those states are colored light blue in this map, part of a National Public Radio report.

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Elusive e-logs: Agency misses another projected publication date for ELD mandate

After pushing Sept. 30 most of the year as the publication date for an ELD mandate, FMCSA’s latest projected date for the rule — Oct. 30 — has also come and gone, and there’s no rule yet.

November 4, 2015

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Overdrive Extra

Paycheck checkup: The real spread between driver and contractor pay

It looks like the California spread of $17,400 between company driver and owner-operator earnings is overstated, at least as applied on the national scale. Instead, the $50,000-$60,000 range is now commonplace for many employed and leased long-haul truckers.

October 29, 2015

Trucking income figures released in a survey related to California port haulers vary from income data tracked by other sources.

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Court presses OOIDA on ‘unconstitutionality’ of Calif. emissions regs during oral arguments

The court overseeing the OOIDA’s lawsuit against California and its stringent emissions regulations heard oral arguments last week in the case, and, per one report, OOIDA faced tough questions about its suit and the evidence used to support it.

October 27, 2015

A 360-degree inside look at a rolling audio-visual showroom

You wouldn’t expect a truck based in a tiny Indiana town and tied to grain farming to have more video monitors and speakers than what’s found in most houses. But then you probably haven’t been inside Buzz Kill, the 2015 Peterbilt 386 shown by Davis Bros. of Owensville, Ind. The sleek Pete has a sound […]

October 13, 2015

The monitor folds down and slides into the dash when not in use.

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Owner-operators’ decade of ‘working less and making more’

Looking at miles, revenue, income, maintenance costs and more, owner-operators worked longer but made less in recent years.

October 7, 2015

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Conflicting accounts of bigger big rigs

When safety is at stake, there’s no need to take needless risks in the name of uncertain efficiency.

October 5, 2015

Damage to roads and bridges is one concern in the debate over heavier trucks.

Overdrive Extra

How to see through bad advice on revenue per mile

Adding a stop to a run, even when the rate is good, can be a “dead loser,” says Richard DeForest of ATBS, the nation’s largest owner-operator financial services provider.

September 24, 2015

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E-log enforcement: Will it be ‘one strike, you’re out’? That and more from FTR conference

“It’s a mandatory regulation,” said former FMCSA head Annette Sandberg, meaning enforcers likely will drop a carriers’ safety rating to Unsatisfactory, giving them 60 days to comply with the rule or be shut down, she says.

September 18, 2015

rand mcnally eobr e-log eld

Overdrive Extra

When to take a vacation and other insights from trucking data

Smart owner-operators know they “have to hit it hard” from March through November, said ATBS Vice President Richard DeForest at the Overdrive Partners in Business seminar.

September 18, 2015

Richard DeForest is vice president of fleet sales for ATBS.

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Our thank-you card to drivers

In addition to truck driver appreciation programs at many fleets, there are initiatives from truck stop chains, trade groups and others.

September 16, 2015

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Suicide spinoff: Blaming the trucker, once again

Professional drivers know firsthand from the evolution of the regulatory machine that there is a tendency to hold you guilty until proven innocent.

September 10, 2015

A suicidal collision turns the highway into a thing of horror for truckers who are suddenly drawn into someone else’s nightmare. Some drivers never fully recover from such tragedies.

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Analyst: Trend to ‘micromanage’ drivers deterring truckers, ELDs to push small carriers out of biz

“We’re watching them on the satellite. We’ve got a camera inside the cab of the truck that will take a movie of you if there’s any kind of acceleration, deceleration, swerve to the left or swerve to the right. This is not the kind of job that the swashbuckling truck drivers of years gone past would have any interest in and that’s part of what makes it so difficult.”

September 10, 2015

The electronic logging device mandate likely to take effect in late 2017 will ding the country’s capacity by about three to five percent, says analyst John Larkin.

Overdrive Extra

Time for a ‘no truck’ list? Recent CDL recipient spurs the question

Minnesota’s recent issuance of a CDL to a man already forbidden to board U.S. planes begs the question: Does the U.S. need a list of those who aren’t allowed to obtain CDLs?

September 8, 2015

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Overdrive Extra

30-Second Trucker Tip: Stalled on train tracks!

A 100-car train traveling 50 mph takes a full mile to stop. So if you stall on the tracks and hear that train a-comin’, rolling round the bend, the odds are not with you. Here’s what to do.

September 6, 2015

A train collides with a vehicle or pedestrian every three hours in the United States. Truck drivers are among the nearly 200 people killed at highway rail crossings every year.

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30-second Trucker Tip video: Steer tire blowout!

A blowout is one of the most dreaded big-rig emergencies, especially when it’s a steer tire. Here’s how to handle one if it happens.

August 13, 2015

Overdrive Extra

My conversations with truckers dealing with ‘suicide by truck’ cases

There’s no way to fully prepare yourself for this kind of tragedy, but being at your very best, all the time, gives you an edge.

August 9, 2015

2015 suicide rivera 2

Page 34 of 68

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Ben Cadle's personal 2024 Pete 389, custom-built with Semi Casual assist

Small fleet owner Cadle showed the sharp 389 hooked to a brand-new polished-out Dorsey flatbed that his parallel Trelco Trailers business, leasing and selling trailers, took to the Large Cars and Guitars truck show in Kodak, Tennessee, in May.

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Trucking Law: Marijuana rescheduling impact for pro truckers

trucks on highway crossing bridges

Timeline for AEBs, broker transparency, other rulemakings in the works

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Why brokers don't want to give owner-ops transparency in freight transactions

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4 million miles of increasing efficiency for owner-op's 1995 Kenworth T600

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The Business Manual for Owner-Operators

Overdrive editors and ATBS present the industry’s best manual for prospective and committed owner-operators. You’ll find exceptional depth on many issues in the Partners in Business book, updated annually.

Partners in Business Issue Cover